PlayStation Orbis Rumors are sketchy, thinks analyst

A recent rumor about the next generation console from Sony has gotten quite a lot of heat from the gaming community. Particularly one tidbit of information that claims that the next generation console will eliminate pre-owned games altogether. Gaming industry analyst, Michael Pachter, thinks that this rumor might be short-sighted, and could have serious repercussions for anyone that decides to go down this road in the next generation.

“It isn’t really in Sony’s or Microsoft’s best interests to block used games. It would benefit Activision and EA slightly, and would hurt GameStop a great deal. If Sony unilaterally did this, I could see GameStop refusing to carry their console, and sales of the PS4 would therefore suffer,” Pachter told GamesIndustry International.

Pachter believes that not only would it stifle sales of the next gen console, but that the console makers risk alienating long time “core” gamers that would otherwise be chomping at the bit for the new console. Pachter doesn’t think its completely off of the table however. “If one does it and the others don’t, the one who does it will see a loss of market share,” Pachter explained the pitfalls of Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo pushing forward with this feature-set in the next generation.

The analyst further elaborated on the rumors claiming that it might be “a re-hash of that old rumor and the recent one about the Xbox 720… the Orbis rumor’s reliable source is a monkey,” he told NowGamer.